Cleaning-machine.



'J. L. LUND.

CLEANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28119'6.

2 SHEETS-SHEET limur Attest: I a, Inventor: W I by 64mg 7% W 8 Atty J. L. LUND.

CLEANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28. 1916.

1 ,273,077. Patented July 16, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

a dill 521mm To all whom it may concern:

Janeen. LUIN'D, on NEW roan, N. Y. c

creams-macaw.

Specification of Ietters Patent.-

Patented July 1c, 1918.

Application flled February 88, 1918. Serial No. 80,828.

Be it knownthat I, James L. LUND, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, borough of Manhattan, county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cleaning-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This Invention relates to devices for cleansing pliable and more or less porous articles, such as garments and the material of which garments and articles of wearing apparel generally are or may be made, having more particularly in mlnd the removal of dust, dirt and other objectionable foreign matter, including loose hairs from fur, either-in made-up form or in the piece. As a rule, furs are preferably cleansed by the ordinar heating process, the beater being mani u ated by hand, or, as is often the case, by t e employment of a device which includes a mechanically-actuated beater.

The most serious objection to the beating process, as employed heretofore, is the consequent throwing 0E 'into the atmoshere of the dust and loose hairs that are islodged, which is obviously most unsanitary in that these minute particles of matter are taken into the lungs and nasal passages of operatives and employees. While the underlying principle of the present invention is the provision, in connection with a suitable beating device, of means for creating and controllin air currents so directed as to collect the dislodged particles of solid or foreign matter and discharge the same into-a suitable receptacle therefor, or into the atmosphere at a point where their dissipation will be unobjectionable,'still the present invention more particularly contemplates such an arrangement of parts as to combine a makimumdegree of cleansing efliciency with compactness and ease of manipulation. Furthermore, I have inmind the provision of a device having a wider range of usefulness than that possessed by prior devices of. this character, as will appear from the following description.

My invention will be more readily understood by. reference to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a complete device embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged end view thereof, partly in section taken substantially on the line 22 of Fi 3, the suspending means and the dust col ector being broken away;

. Fig. 3: is a central sectional elevation 4 thereof, taken substantially on theline 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig.4 is an enlarged central vertical section of the gears and gear mountings of the beater-actuating mechanism, showing the means for cutting out'the beater when desired, as hereinafter described, and

,Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional detail view taken substantially on the line 5--5 of Fi 3. fieferring now to the drawings in detail,

numeral 7 refers to the casing of an electrio motor, which, as it may be of any wellknown and approved construction, and enaccumulation of dust and the like, and to.

this end, in providing asuitable casin to so control the air currents as to retain t ese small particles of solid matter, I keep in view incasement of the bearings and machine parts. After many months of experiment, I have devised the casing shown in the drawiglg s, which includes, first, What may be te ed a rimary' casing, this being the shell 9, wit in which the beater 38 oscillates and which may be said to be of downwardly-flaring or substantially domeshaped configuration, the bottom thereof be- .ergized in the usual manner from any suiting open. This casing 9 is suitably secured to what I shall term the fan casin 10, the latter being of substantially cy indrical configuration, and being secured to the flange or rim 11 of the motor casing 7 in suchmanner that-themotor shaft 8 projects centrally. thereinto; Onlthis projectlng end of the motor shaft 8, within the 'casing'10, is mounted the rotary fan 12, and the easing 10 is provided, :on the side 0 posite the motor, w1th a central orifice w ch regisloo tem with an orificein the upper portion of in which is journaled a shaft 16 carrying.

- a gear 17 in mesh with a pinion 18 mounted on theend of the motor shaft 8 which projects into said-casing. Mounted on the shaft 16, is the eccentric 19 carrying the eccentric strap 20, the lower end of which is secured to the end of the beater-arm 21 preferably by means of a universal joint 22. This.

beater-arm 21 is pivotally mounted upon the shaft or rod 23 carriedby the casing 13, and preferably is of a'configuration which provides'a horizontal portion which curves downwardly and terminates in a seat or socket 2,4 for the beater-head, so as to prop:

. erly position the latter for the beating operation. It will be apparent that upon rotation of the shaft 16, the eccentric 19 will cause oscillation of the beater arm 21 so as to vibrate or oscillate the beater 38 very rapidly between the positions indicated by the solid and dotted lines in Fig. 3.

0n the upper side of the fan casing 10. I

provide a discharge conduit 25, and for the purpose of this description I have shown mounted on the end thereof a: dust collector 26, which may be of any well-known construction, and which I prefer to employ in order to make the device more easily manipulated, for if this conduit were mad to lead through any form of flexible tubing to a point of discharge outside the room or chamber, for example, it is apparent-that more difficulty would be experienced in movingthe device from place to place and readjusting the same in different locations.

Cleansing operations sudh as those to which I have referred are generally performed upon a suitable work-stand or table, upon which the garment or other article to be cleansed is spread out, and, as it is neces' sary to move the device laterally over the face of the garment while the beater is in operation, 1 it is desirable that supporting means he provided for the device as a whole which will permit of such movement with the least possible manual exertion. To this end, while it will be apparent that the device may be mounted for ready lateral movement over the work in many different ways, I prefer to suspend the same, and in the drawings I have shown a bail 27, the ends of which are secured to opposite sides of the motor casing 7, this being substantially the plane, in the device as shown, in which the machine might be suspended most nearly in balance. A suspending rod 28 has a hook 29 end of said sleeve.

Lessee? at the lower end thereof and in engagement with said bail, and this rod 28 is suspended preferably from a carriage 30, having grooved wheels 31 31 adapted to travel on a wire or track 32, whereby the device may be readily moved back and forth. I have shown coil springs 33 33 "interposed in the suspending means, whereby the vertical position of the device ma have also shown the rod 28 divided, the ends thereof being connected by means of .the block 34, whereby the suspending means may be lengthened or shortened to suit the requirements, finer adjustment being provided for by the manner of connecting the springs 33 to the carriage 30.

I have referred to the fact that it is sometimes desirable to utilize the suction created by a device of this character without operation of the beater. Thus, after one or more cleansin operations have been performed, dust, irt and hairs may be removed from the work-stand or table by continuing the operation of the fan, without, however, operating the beater, the device being moved back and forth over the face of the stand or table in the same manner as when a garment or other article is being cleansed. In order to cut out the heater for this purpose, I mount the gear 17 loosely on the shaft 16, and provide the former with asleeve 35 (Fig. 4) projecting beyond the end of the shaft 16, whereby said gear and shaft may be locked together. by means of a screw 36 threaded longitudinally into said'shaft and the head thereof frictionally engaging the Obviously, when this screw is loosened, the gear 17 will rotate loosely upon the shaft 16, and the beater will not operate, but when the screw is tight ened these parts will be firmly locked together and the eccentric will be rotated tooperate the beater.

Furthermore, while there is a certain amount of inherent resiliency in the beater, which is most often constructed of ratan, and in the beater mountings, this is not infrequently'insuflicient to reduce the rigidity thereof to a point which would prevent early destruction of the beater, due to the strains of sudden and oft-repeated change of move ments thereof and. the forces of impact against the stand or table. Also, the blows of the beater should be cushioned to insure against ill 'efi'ects to the article being cleansed. Therefore, I prefer to divide the beater arm 21 into telescoping parts having limited lateral play, pivoted together at 37 (Figs. 3 and 5) and having a coilspring 39 interposed to cushion the effect of both the impelling forces of the actuating mechanism and the blows of the beater.

A pivotally-mounted door 40 affords provision for fine regulation of the amount of vacuum created within the casing 9 by the be regulated, and I operation of the fan 12, Without depending upon changes in the speed of the motor 7.

Although it is manifest that a rheostat for controlling the speed of the motor 7 may be located Wherever it may be found most desirable, I have shown the rheostat ,41 as being secured to the end Wall of the casing 13 Within said casing, and provided with the usual contacts 42 and control lever 43.

/ Various modifications of minor details of my improved vacuum beating machine will doubtless readily suggest themselvesto those skilled in this art, and I therefore do not desire to limit my invention to the specific construction shownv and described herein.

I claim asnew, and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A device of the character described, comprising a casing having a' relatively large opening at the bottom thereof and a relatively small opening at the top thereof leading to a discharge conduit, a fan mounted at the smaller opening adapted to direct a current of air therethrough, a beater mounted at the larger opening of said casing, independently incased actuating mechanism for said beater, and a motor interposed between said fan and said actuating mechanism and adapted to operate both thereof.

2. A device of the character described, comprising a casing having a relatively large opening at the bottom thereof and a relatively small opening at the top thereof leading to a discharge conduit, a fan mounted at the smaller opening adapted to direct a current of air therethrough, a beater mounted at the larger open'ng of said casing, independently incased ctuating mechanism for said beater, a motor interposed between said fan and said actuating mechanism and adapted to operate both thereof, said-beater having yielding connection with its actuating mechanism.

3. A device of the character described, comprising a casing having a relatively large opening at the bottom thereuf and a relatively small opening at the top thereof leading to a discharge conduit, a fan mounted at the smaller opening adapted to direct a current of air therethrough, a beater mounted at the larger opening of said casing, independently incased actuating. mechanism for said beater, a motor interposed between said fan and said actuating mechanism and adapted to operateboth thereof, and means for disconnecting said beater from its actuating mechanism Whereby said fan may be operated independently.

In testimony of the foregoing, I .have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES L. LUND.

Witnesses J. R. FRrrH, H. R. CONWAY. 

